Key Theological Debates and Developments
Key Theological Debates and Developments
The major renaissance in theology which took place during the period under consideration focused on a number of issues, of which the following are of especial importance. They will simply be noted briefly at this point; detailed discussion of most of them will take place later in this work.
The Consolidation of the Patristic Heritage
During the theological renaissance of the twelfth century and following, Christian theologians began to consolidate and extend the rich heritage of theological resources passed on to them from the patristic era. As the western church was Latin-speaking, it was natural that its theologians should turn to the substantial collection of works by Augustine of Hippo as a starting point for their own theological reflections. Peter Lombard's Four Books of the Sentences may be regarded as a critical compilation of quotations (“sentences”) drawn largely from the writings of Augustine, upon which medieval theologians were required to comment.
The Exploration of the Role of Reason in Theology
The new concern to establish Christian theology upon a totally reliable foundation led to a considered exploration of the role of reason in theology, a central and defining characteristic of scholasticism (see p. 35). As the theological renaissance of the early Middle Ages proceeded, two themes began to dominate theological debate: the need to systematize and expand Christian theology and the need to demonstrate the inherent rationality of that theology.
Although most early medieval theology was little more than a replay of the views of Augustine, there was growing pressure to systematize Augustine's ideas, and take them further. But how could this be done? A “theory of method” was urgently needed. And on the basis of what philosophical system could the rationality of Christian theology be demonstrated?
The eleventh-century writer Anselm of Canterbury gave expression to this basic belief in the rationality of the Christian faith in two Latin phrases which have come to be linked with his name: fides quaerens intellectum (“faith seeking understanding”) and credo ut intellegam (“I believe, in order that I may understand”). His basic insight was that, while faith comes before understanding, the content of that faith is nevertheless rational. These definitive formulae established both the priority of faith over reason and the entire reasonableness of faith. Nevertheless, Anselm was no rationalist – he knew that reason has its limits!
The eleventh and early twelfth centuries saw a growing conviction that philosophy could be an invaluable asset to Christian theology at two different levels. In the first place, it could demonstrate the reasonableness of faith, and thus defend it against non-Christian critics. In the second place, it offered ways of systematically exploring and arranging the articles of faith, so that they could be better understood. But which philosophy? The answer to this question came through the rediscovery of the writings of Aristotle, in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. By about 1270, Aristotle had become established as “the Philosopher.” His ideas came to dominate theological thinking, despite fierce opposition from more conservative quarters.
Through the influence of writers such as Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, Aristotle's ideas became established as the best means of consolidating and developing Christian theology. The ideas of Christian theology were thus arranged and correlated systematically, on the basis of Aristotelian presuppositions. The defense of the rationality of Christian faith often involved an appeal to Aristotelian ideas. Thomas Aquinas's Summa contra Gentiles is an excellent example of a work of theology which draws on Aristotelianism as a common philosophy shared by Christians and Muslims, which would allow the attractiveness of the Christian faith to be explained within the Islamic world.
Scholasticism: The Development of Theological Systems
We have already noted the pressure to consolidate the patristic, especially the Augustinian, heritage (p. 34). This pressure to systematize, which is integral to scholasticism, led to the development of the sophisticated theological systems of scholasticism noted earlier. Thomas Aquinas's Summa theologiae is widely seen as one of the best statements of this comprehensive and all-embracing approach to Christian theology.
This emphasis on the importance of theological systems led to the emergence of a number of “schools” of theology in the later Middle Ages. Of particular importance were those generally known as Thomist (based on the writings of Thomas Aquinas) or Scotist (based on the writings of Duns Scotus), and those based on the via moderna (“the modern way”), which drew on the ideas of William of Ockham.
This emphasis on harmonization and coherence is reflected in one of the most significant themes of scholasticism – the use of disputation. This is seen in the dialectical approach adopted in landmark works of scholasticism, such as Aquinas's Summa theologiae and especially his Disputed Questions, such as the “Disputed Questions on Truth.” In these works, based on university lectures at Paris, Aquinas opens up a question for general discussion and notes a range of opinions. After engaging with these positions, Aquinas presents a counterproposal and then shows how his own position is better than those of his opponents. This often involves a distinction between various meanings of terms and the interpretation of various authorities to fit in with Aquinas's own position. This dialectical approach was easily extended from theology to other disciplines – such as philosophy and the emerging natural sciences.
The Development of Sacramental Theology
The early church had been somewhat imprecise in its discussion of the sacraments. There was little general agreement concerning either how the term “sacrament” was to be defined or what items were to be included in a list of the sacraments (see pp. 382–5). Baptism and the Eucharist (holy communion) were generally agreed to be sacramental; sadly, there was relatively little agreement on anything else. However, with the theological renaissance of the Middle Ages, the church was coming to play an increasingly important role in society. There was new pressure for the church to place its acts of public worship on a secure intellectual footing, and to consolidate the theoretical aspects of its worship. As a result, sacramental theology developed considerably during the period. Agreement was reached on the definition of a sacrament, the number of the sacraments, and the precise identity of these sacraments.
The Development of the Theology of Grace
A central element of the Augustinian heritage was a theology of grace. However, Augustine had been obliged to state his theology of grace in the heat of a controversy, often in response to the challenges and provocations of his opponents. As a result, his writings on the subject were often unsystematic. Occasionally, Augustine developed distinctions in response to the needs of the moment, and failed to lay an adequate theological foundation for at least some of them. The theologians of the Middle Ages saw themselves as charged with the task of consolidating Augustine's doctrine of grace, placing it upon a more reliable foundation, and exploring its consequences. As a result, the doctrines of grace and justification were developed considerably during the period, laying the foundation for the Reformation debates over these central issues.
The Role of Mary in the Scheme of Salvation
This new interest in grace and justification led to a new concern with understanding the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, in salvation. Growing interest in devotion to Mary, linked with intense theological speculation concerning the nature of original sin and redemption, led to a series of developments relating to Mary. Many of these are linked with Duns Scotus, who is credited with placing Mariology (that is, the area of theology dealing with Mary) on a considerably more developed foundation than before.
Intense debate broke out between “maculists” (who held that Mary was subject to original sin, like everyone else) and “immaculists” (who held that she was preserved from the taint of original sin). There was also considerable discussion over whether Mary could be said to be coredemptrix (that is to say, whether she was to be regarded as a figure of redemption, in a manner similar to Jesus Christ).
The Renaissance: Returning to the Original Sources of Theology
A central element of the humanist agenda was the return to the original sources of western European culture in classical Rome and Athens. The theological counterpart to this element was the direct return to the foundational resources of Christian theology, above all in the New Testament. This agenda led to a new appreciation of the foundational importance of Scripture as a theological resource, and to patristic writers as early interpreters of Scripture.
The first printed Greek New Testament was produced by Erasmus in 1516. Erasmus's text was not as reliable as it ought to have been: he had access to a mere four manuscripts for most of the New Testament, and only one for its final part, the book of Revelation. As it happened, the manuscript left out five verses, which Erasmus himself had to translate into Greek from the Latin of the Vulgate. Nevertheless, it proved to be a literary milestone. For the first time, theologians had the opportunity of comparing the original Greek text of the New Testament with the later Vulgate translation into Latin. And they soon found that some doctrines seemed to be based on faulty Latin translations of the original Greek text of the New Testament.
Erasmus showed that the Vulgate translation of several major New Testament texts could not be justified – with important theological implications. Two examples of translation errors will help to bring out the theological relevance of Erasmus's biblical scholarship.
These developments undermined the credibility of the Vulgate translation and opened the way to theological revision on the basis of a better understanding of the biblical text. They also demonstrated the importance of biblical scholarship in relation to theology. Theology could not be permitted to base itself upon translation mistakes! The recognition of the vitally important role of biblical scholarship in Christian theology thus dates from the second decade of the sixteenth century. It also led to the theological concerns of the Reformation, which we shall consider in the next chapter.
In the following chapter, we turn to an exploration of the emergence of the movement widely known as “the Reformation,” which is generally regarded as having established the distinctive features of modern western Christianity, both Roman Catholic and Protestant.